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24 must-read books being made into TV series in 2019

  • More books are being adapted into TV series.

  • Some will be on network channels, like Fox's "The Passage."

  • Others will be streaming, like the new adaptation of "The ABC Murders" on Amazon Prime and "Catch-22" on Hulu.


Some of the biggest TV series often come from books, and more are on their way.

Joseph Heller's "Catch-22" is heading to Hulu and is starring George Clooney, while comic book series "Deadly Class" is heading to the Syfy channel.

Here are 24 series based on books that will soon be on TV.


Fox's "The Passage" is loosely based on Justin Cronin's novel of the same name.

The sci-fi series will center on a facility called Project Noah, where scientists experiment with a virus that could potentially cure all diseases, but can also kill all humans. A young girl named Amy is chosen to be a test subject at the facility but the Federal Agent put in charge of her decides to protect her.

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Release date: Monday, January 14 on Fox

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"Roswell, New Mexico" will be the second adaptation of "The Roswell High" series by Melinda Metz.

A girl moves back to her hometown only to learn that her high school crush is an alien and has hidden his abilities for his entire life, but he's not the only extra-terrestrial around. Fear and hatred in the town threaten to expose the aliens and put them in danger.

Release date: Tuesday, January 15 on The CW

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Rick Remender's comic book series "Deadly Class" is coming to Syfy.

"Deadly Class" centres on an elite training school for assassins where the world's top crime families send their kids and an orphan who is recruited to join. The series was created by "Infinity War" directors Joe and Anthony Russo.

Release date: Wednesday, January 16 on Syfy

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A series based on "A Discovery of Witches," the first book in the "All Souls" trilogy by Deborah Harkness, made its way to TV.

The series follows Diana Bishop (Teresa Palmer), a professor and witch who rejects her magical life until she stumbles upon a powerful manuscript that awakens her powers. Other species, including vampires and daemons, have been searching for the manuscript, and that puts her in danger. She also forms a relationship with vampire Matthew Clairmont (Matthew Goode).

Release date: Thursday, January 17 on Sundance Now

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Agatha Christie's "The ABC Murders" is getting another adaptation.

John Malkovich is playing Agatha Christie's famed detective Hercule Poirot as he tries to catch a killer who is basing murders on the ABC Railway Guide. The series also stars "Harry Potter" castmates Rupert Grint and Shirley Henderson, as well as Andrew Buchan and Tara Fitzgerald.

Another Christie novel, "Death Comes As the End," is also reportedly in the works.

Release date: Friday, February 1 on Amazon Prime

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"The Umbrella Academy," a comic book series from My Chemical Romance front man Gerard Way, will soon be a Netflix series.

"The Umbrella Academy" is about 43 babies born on the same day to women who weren't pregnant the day before. Seven of the kids are adopted by a millionaire who creates the academy to make his kids save the world. The team later disbands but reunites following their "father's" death to stop impending doom.

Release date: Friday, February 15 on Netflix

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"Game of Thrones" may be past the events of the books, but it's a good idea to read through the "A Song of Ice and Fire" series by George R.R. Martin anyway.

"Game of Thrones" is returning for its eighth and final season in 2019. Based on George R.R. Martin's "A Song of Ice and Fire" series, many of the events on the show follow the books closely. Fans have been anticipating "The Winds of Winter," the next book in the series, since "A Dance With Dragons" was published in 2011, but there's no publication date as of now.

Release date: April 2019

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Joseph Heller's "Catch-22" will be released on Hulu.

The story follows World War II bombardier Yossarian who is angry at those trying to kill him and who is forced to fly into constant danger. The series will star Christopher Abbott, Kyle Chandler, Hugh Laurie, and George Clooney.

Release date: Spring 2019 on Hulu

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A mini-series based on Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett's "Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch" is heading to Amazon Video.

"Good Omens" is a story about the apocalypse and centres on the demon Crowley (David Tennant) and the angel Aziraphale (Michael Sheen), who work to prevent the Antichrist from coming because they are content with their Earth lives. The miniseries is set in 2018 and also stars Jon Hamm, Josie Lawrence, Anna Maxwell Martin, Frances McDormand, and Nick Offerman.

With a script by Gaiman, the series is sure to be an ideal iteration.

Release date: 2019 on Amazon Prime

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"The Perfectionists" is a sequel of "Pretty Little Liars," both of which are book series by author Sara Shepard.

Another small town is stunned by murder and no one is as perfect as they make themselves appear. Alison and Mona from "Pretty Little Liars" are back in an unknown capacity.

Release date: 2019 on Freeform

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AMC is bringing Joe Hill's supernatural horror story "NOS4A2" to the small screen.

"NOS4A2" (pronounced Nosferatu) is about an artist named Vic McQueen and supernatural being Charlie Manx. Manx feeds off of children's souls and sends them to an alternate world he calls Christmasland. McQueen has the ability to track Manx and works to save the children. Ashleigh Cummings is playing McQueen, while Zachary Quinto is Manx.

Release date: 2019 on AMC

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Henry Cavill is starring on "The Witcher," a fantasy series by Andrzej Sapkowski, for Netflix.

"The Witcher," also an incredibly successful video game franchise, is a fantasy series about monster hunters with supernatural abilities.

Release date: 2019 on Netflix

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Umberto Eco's murder mystery "The Name of the Rose" is being made into a series.

The series is set in an Italian monastery where multiple people are found dead and a monk begins to investigate. John Turturro, Rupert Everett, and Michael Emerson will star on the series.

Release date: 2019 on Sundance TV

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Dave Gibbons and Alan Moore's comic book limited series "Watchmen" is getting a TV adaptation from "The Leftovers" co-creator Damon Lindelof.

The plot of the series is unknown but Lindelof shared an open letter on Instagram where he described the show wouldn't necessarily be an adaptation of the comic book.

"This story will be set in the world its creators painstakingly built ... but in the tradition of the work that inspired it, this new story must be original ... It must ask new questions and explore the world through a fresh lens," he wrote. "Most importantly, it must be contemporary."

The cast includes Regina King, Don Johnson, Tim Blake Nelson, Louis Gossett Jr., and Jeremy Irons.

Release date: 2019 on HBO

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Netflix's "V-Wars" is based on an anthology series edited by Jonathan Maberry.

V-Wars is short for Vampire Wars, and the anthology explores how a virus caused humans to turn into vampires. Ian Somerhalder is playing Dr. Luther Swann who tries to understand this new virus after his friend is affected by it.

Release date: 2019 on Netflix

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An adaptation of Philip Pullman’s "His Dark Materials" series has a two-season order already.

Pullman's trilogy follows two children, Lyra and Will, as they venture through parallel universes. Deadline reported in September 2018 that the series had already received an order for a second season before its season one premiere. The series will star Dafne Keen, Lin-Manuel Miranda, James McAvoy, and Ruth Wilson.

Release date: 2019 on BBC One in the UK and on HBO in the US

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Amazon is adapting Colson Whitehead's "The Underground Railroad" with director Barry Jenkins ("Moonlight").

Whitehead's novel takes the Underground Railroad and makes it a physical thing with conductors and engineers running a secret series of underground tracks and trains to help slaves escape to the north. The novel follows Cora, a slave from Georgia, as she makes the dangerous journey to freedom.

Release date: 2019 on Amazon Prime

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"Twilight" author Stephanie Meyer is adapting Daniel O'Malley's thriller "The Rook" for TV.

"The Path" actress Emma Greenwell will play Myfanwy Thomas, a woman who wakes up in a park with no recollection of who she is and must uncover a supernatural traitor in a secret British organisation. The series will also star Paula Patton, Olivia Munn, Adrian Lester, and Joely Richardson.

Release date: 2019 on Starz

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Netflix is creating an animated series based on Roald Dahl’s children’s books.

Possible stories Netflix can adapt for the universe include "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory," "Matilda," "The BFG," and "Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator."

Release date: TBD on Netflix

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J.R.R. Tolkien's "Lord of the Rings" series is getting a TV adaptation.

The Amazon series based on Tolkien's books will explore stories in Middle-earth as a prequel to the adventures of Frodo and Sam. But there is no announced plot for the planned series yet.

Release date: TBD on Amazon Prime

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"The Angel of Darkness," the second novel in Caleb Carr's Kreizler series, is being made for TV as a follow-up to "The Alienist."

Daniel Bruhl, Luke Evans, and Dakota Fanning will be returning for the series. "The Angel of Darkness" is set a year after the events of "The Alienist" and is a mystery about a diplomat's missing infant daughter.

Release date: TBD on TNT

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Celeste Ng's "LIttle Fires Everywhere" was bought by Hulu.

Kerry Washington and Reese Witherspoon are set to star in the miniseries about families in Shaker Heights, Ohio, whose children connect them. The town is also split over the controversial adoption of a Chinese-American baby whose real mother lives and works in the area.

Release date: TBD on Hulu

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Nicole Kidman is producing a series for Amazon based on "The Expatriates" by Janice Y. K. Lee.

"The Expatriates" is about a group of women who are expatriates in Hong Kong. Many of the women live decadent lives, but their affluence generally means that their struggles also play out in public. It's a story about building and rebuilding lives in a place that wasn't always home.

Release date: TBD on Amazon Prime

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"The Kingkiller Chronicle" series is getting both a TV series and a movie.

Showtime will air the series based on Patrick Rothfuss' series about Kovothe, a musician, scholar, and adventurer. The series is set to "expand on the world outside of the books," according to Lionsgate.

Release date: TBD on Showtime

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